As a kid, going shopping with my mom for school supplies was one of my favorite things ever. I carefully chose the perfect pens, folders (Lisa Frank, anyone?!), and notebooks to fill up my new backpack.
That said, I wasn’t quite as excited to take my son school supply shopping for the very first time. Going through this rite of passage means acknowledging that a) summer is coming to an end, b) my first baby is growing up, and c) life as we know it is about to change in a big way.
The past two years have been pretty wonderful: my children have been in daycare and preschool in the same building, my mom does drop-off AND pick-up on most days, and our responsibilities as parents when it comes to school have been manageable (and minimal).
All of that ends on August 22. Parker and Mia will be in different places. My husband will be taking Parker to school, and I’ll be finishing my workday early to pick him up. There will be homework assignments, parent volunteering, and many school functions to attend. A brave new world, for sure.
School supply shopping solidified what I knew was coming, but what I had been trying to deny. This summer has been a lovely limbo period; I’ve gotten away with pretending the status quo would continue. Pushing a big red cart full of glue sticks, scissors, Kleenex boxes, and Clorox wipes, there’s no more pretending.
Parker, on the other hand, is over the moon with excitement. He’s counting down the days until kindergarten, where he will no longer be required to take a midday nap. Where he’ll get to see his soccer team friends every single day. And for that, I am grateful.
It’s a big transition, and clearly I’m taking it the hardest. But I’m banking on his enthusiasm overshadowing my reluctance, especially on the first day when I send him in with his backpack brimming with those school supplies.
Solidarity to all of the moms who have gone before me, who will be sharing my experience later this month, and who think they have all the time in the world until they get here but really should just try to avoid blinking.
